Students say they fear gun club near school

Published: Monday, February 25, 2013 at 6:22 p.m.

Last Modified: Monday, February 25, 2013 at 6:22 p.m.

BRADENTON - A proposed sporting clay range would scare them, ruin the tranquility of their nature lab and make them feel unsafe, more than a dozen children from Center Montessori School told a hearing officer Monday afternoon.

Wayne Evans helped build and will manage the new Ancient Oak Gun Club at Lakewood Ranch located 16800 State Road 64 in Eastern Manatee County.

Staff Photo / Thomas Bender

Officials from the school and from the nearby Bayside Community Church have cited the sound of gunfire as their chief complaint against the Ancient Oak Gun Club, which is located at 16800 State Road 64.

Manatee County Hearing officer Lori M. Dorman had said she would likely approve the sporting clay range, which is being developed by Schroeder-Manatee Ranch. Dorman, however, reopened the case and held an additional hearing Monday in the Manatee County Commission chambers, to take more testimony about noise before deciding whether to approve a special use permit.

Dorman declined to comment about her reasons for reopening the case, and now has 21 days to issue her decision.

During the public comment portion of the hearing, three groups of five Center Montessori students told Dorman why they objected to the proposed range, which an attorney representing SMR pointed out was more than 14 football fields away from a wooded acreage used by the school six to eight times a year as a “land lab.”

“It does have a negative effect on me,” one student said of the gunfire.

“It's scary to know there are people with guns less than a mile away,” another said.

“I just don't think it's a good idea to have a shooting range near our land lab, because it's harder to enjoy nature,” said a third.

Mara Fulk, the school's administrator, told the hearing officer she was concerned about the effects of gunfire would have on her students, because of everything “going on in our world.”

“We have to be an advocate for our children,” she said.

Fulk did acknowledge that the sound of the gunfire will not exceed the county's 60 decibel limit at the property line of the proposed range.

Byron Nelson, a sound engineer hired by SMR to test the decibel levels at the church and school properties, testified Monday that decibel readings were 43 at the church and 47 at the school's acreage — a reading that was often drowned out by passing cars.

Nelson had a battery of shotgunners fire at the range while taking his readings Feb. 4.

“They were well within county noise ordinance for the site,” he said. “The ordinance requires 60 decibels at the property line. In all cases they were well within that. They're well below 50 when they're allowed 60.

Attorney Caleb Grimes, who represented SMR, said the club was in compliance with every criteria “several times over.”

“It's important that we recall this is a land use decision — use of the land — not a debate on the recreational benefits of sporting clays,” he said. “Our county has determined that sporting clays, skeet and trap are appropriate use of ag-zoned land. This meets the use criteria, and has been carefully located.”

Two competitive sporting clay shooters testified in support of the proposed range.

George Mazzarantani, a Sarasota attorney, had just returned from a sporting clay tournament where a 14-year-old girl took a top prize.

“I disagree with comments that the ‘pop-pop' of a shotgun inflicts trauma,” he said, cautioning the students in the audience that it was important they learn to separate “fear from fiction.”

Ed Agrisani, a masters class competitive sporting clay shooter said, “This is a very clean, well-managed sport — it's a sport. There are colleges that give scholarships to kids based on their ability at this sport.”

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